Puffball Mushroom Soup with Lamb

Recipe by Kate Cooper

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This creamy concoction uses ground lamb, puffball mushroom, potatoes, green onions, garlic, etc. I want it to resemble the Italian wedding soups that are found in fancy delis. So here we go! 

All of the ingredients come from the garden-fresh if at all possible. Even the garlic. This is a great fall/winter season soup because most if not all of the ingredients are just waiting to go straight from the soil (washed of course) into the pot! Improvising is always acceptable so use your favorites!

Ingredients: 

1 lb. ground lamb, browned 

Olive oil 

1-2 medium white potatoes, peeled and chopped - fresh in season from farmer’s markets 

2 fat green onions, peeled and sliced thin – also fresh in season if possible 

3-4 cloves garlic, minced 

1/3 cup sweet corn  

32 ounces low sodium chicken broth 

1 to 1 ½ cup puffball mushroom chopped into small pieces – if you have no source for these use a container of the white button shrooms from the grocers 

4 tablespoons unsalted butter 

Several thin slices of red onions – mostly for color but flavor rides along 

1 Cup heavy cream 

Three whole bay leaves 

1 – 2 teaspoons rubbed sage (use what you grew in your garden!) 

1 teaspoon crushed rosemary (also from your own garden!) 

1 tsp celery seed 

2 tsp ground black pepper  

Salt to taste

Method: 

1. Brown the lamb in a big pot – use glazed cast iron if you have one (like a Le Creuset), lightly coated on the bottom with olive oil so the meat doesn’t stick 

2. Once the meat is browned add all of the chicken stock, the butter, the chopped potatoes, the mushrooms, the green onions, and the ground black pepper 

3. Cook on low till heated through and then turn up the heat to bring it to a light boil 

4. Let it boil lightly for a few minutes – just a few minutes - and then lower the heat to a simmer. 

5. Add the corn and the red onion slices. 

6. Stir frequently throughout the cooking process to combine the flavors well. 

7. Add the seasonings putting the bay leaves in whole and making sure that they are immersed in the soup so their flavor permeates the whole thing and the leaves become soft.  

8. Add the cream – don’t let it boil after you’ve added the cream. 

9. Let the whole thing simmer on very low heat for a half hour or so and then turn it off and let it sit – this is important -  I call this the melding process. All the flavors meld together as the soup cools. Reheat slowly when you’re ready to serve it. 

10. At any point during the cooking I usually give it a quick blast with the immersion blender – just enough to break up the mushrooms but not so much as to turn it into a toothless liquid. You want to see the ingredients and savor the texture. Blending isn’t mandatory! 

Hints: If you like a bit of heat add some crushed red peppers or whatever hot pepper you prefer. If you like garlic, add as much as you want!  

Other possible add-ins or substitutes: chopped celery rather than celery seed; a few slices of carrot; ground beef instead of lamb; bacon bits.

Remember, the idea is to showcase the mushroom/potato/meat combo so if you get too many ingredients you lose that featured flavor, but then there’s nothing wrong with creating an entirely new wonderment that is your very own!